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Dianne "Di" Thorley AM (born 1 December 1949 in Stanthorpe, Queensland) is an Australian politician and a former mayor of Toowoomba, Queensland.
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Dianne "Di" Thorley AM (born 1 December 1949 in Stanthorpe, Queensland) is an Australian politician and a former mayor of Toowoomba, Queensland.
Thorley trained as a nurse in Brisbane and later took up a nursing position at Stanthorpe Hospital. She also spent some time working as a governess in Blackall. She moved to Toowoomba in 1986, where she worked and owned a number of businesses in the local hospitality industry.
Thorley was elected as a Councillor on Toowoomba City Council in 1997 and became mayor in 2000. She was returned to office for a second term in 2004.
On 26 June 2007, Thorley confirmed that she would not seek re-election for mayor in March 2008, or any other council position.
In light of the region's worst drought in a hundred years, which saw the city's dam storages fall below 25% capacity, in 2006 Mayor Di Thorley championed a plan (Toowoomba Water Futures) to build a recycled sewage plant that would process the city's sewage and use the resulting water for re-use. [1] Because of health and public concerns, the recovered sewage water was to be pumped into one of the city's dams that provide drinking water, where it would be allowed to mix with rainwater collected by the dam, before being redrawn and retreated for distribution to homes. The project was controversial as the first of its kind to be proposed in Australia. The only other similar plant in existence is in Singapore which recycles 1% sewage water. The Water Futures project proposed recycling 25-29% for potable use.
A referendum determining community support for the project was held on 29 July 2006 in which a majority (61.87% of voters) said "No" to the proposal. [1]
Toowoomba is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is 125 km (78 mi) west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 census was 142,163, having grown at an average annual rate of 1.45% over the previous two decades. Toowoomba is the second-most-populous inland city in the country after the nation's capital of Canberra, and hence the largest city on the Darling Downs. It is the third largest regional centre in Queensland, often referred to as the capital of the Darling Downs.
New England Highway is an 883-kilometre (549 mi) long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end to Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, and forms part of the inland route between Brisbane and Sydney.
The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally applied to an area approximating to that of the Condamine River catchment upstream of Condamine township but is now applied to a wider region comprising the Southern Downs, Western Downs, Toowoomba and Goondiwindi local authority areas. The name Darling Downs was given in 1827 by Allan Cunningham, the first European explorer to reach the area and recognises the then Governor of New South Wales, Ralph Darling.
The City of Toowoomba was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the centre and inner suburbs of the regional city of Toowoomba. The City covered an area of 116.5 square kilometres (45.0 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity in various forms from 1860 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the surrounding area to form the Toowoomba Region.
Water restrictions have been enacted in many cities and regions in Australia, which is the Earth's driest inhabited continent, in response to chronic water shortages resulting from the widespread drought. Depending upon the location, these can include restrictions on watering lawns, using sprinkler systems, washing vehicles, hosing pavement, refilling swimming pools, etc. Overpopulation, evidence of drying climates, coupled with corresponding reductions in the supply of drinking water has led various state governments to consider alternative water sources to supplement existing sources, and to implement "water inspectors" who can issue penalties to those who waste water. Many states describe the different levels of water restrictions in terms of "stages": starting at Stage 1, for the least restrictive, going up as far as Stage 8. The highest level reached in the current drought has been stage 7 for Kingaroy. There are different definitions given to each "stage" in different states.
The Rockhampton Region is a local government area (LGA) in Central Queensland, Australia, located on the Tropic of Capricorn about 600 kilometres (370 mi) north of Brisbane. Rockhampton is the region's major city; the region also includes the Fitzroy River, Mount Archer National Park and Berserker Range.
Traveston Crossing Dam was a proposed water project that was initiated by the state government of Queensland, Australia, in 2006 as a result of a prolonged drought which saw South-East Queensland's dam catchment area receive record-low rain. The project was cancelled in November 2009, after being refused approval by federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett.
Cressbrook Dam is one of the three water storages used to supply Toowoomba and the surrounding region in Queensland, Australia. The dam is 33 km (21 mi) north-east of Toowoomba in the locality of Biarra in the Somerset Region. It was constructed in 1983 for the former Toowoomba City Council. The other two storages used for Toowoomba are Perseverance Dam and Cooby Dam.
The Cooby Dam is a rock–fill embankment dam with an un–gated spillway across the Cooby Creek, a tributary of Condamine River, at Groomsville in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for potable water supply of the Toowoomba region. The impounded reservoir is called the Cooby Creek Reservoir.
Perseverance Creek Dam is a reservoir in Crows Nest, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It creates Lake Perseverance which is the second largest and the second oldest reservoir of Toowoomba city's three water supply dams. The other two storages used for Toowoomba are Cooby Dam and Cressbrook Dam which is located downstream of Perseverance.
On 29 July 2006, the City of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia held a referendum on the controversial issue of using recycled water from the city's sewers as a source for drinking water.
Football Queensland Darling Downs is a Football Queensland administrative zone encompassing the Darling Downs region and parts of South West Queensland. The zone administers major regional areas including Toowoomba, Dalby, Roma, Charleville, St George, Goondiwindi and Stanthorpe. The premier men's soccer competition is the Football Queensland Premier League 3 − Darling Downs and the premier women's soccer competition is the Football Queensland Women's Premier League 3 − Darling Downs. Football Queensland Darling Downs also has a numerous variety of lower divisions for both men and women, as well as academy and junior competitions to develop soccer and fitness within the region.
As Australia's supply of freshwater is increasingly vulnerable to droughts, possibly as a result of climate change, there is an emphasis on water conservation and various regions have imposed restrictions on the use of water.
The SEQ Water Grid is a region-wide, long term, water supply scheme that provides a sustainable water infrastructure network for the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The project was the largest urban response to the drought in Australia, which severely affected water supplies in Brisbane and surrounds, particularly between 2004 and 2007. The basic component of the project was a 535-kilometre (332 mi) network of potable bulk water pipelines that connect areas that have an oversupply of water to those areas lacking water. The project went online in October 2008 and by November 2008 parts of the region were receiving a diversified supply of water for the first time.
The 2000s drought in Australia, also known as the Millennium drought is said by some to be the worst drought recorded since European settlement.
The provision of electricity in Queensland required a considerable degree of pioneering, innovation, and commitment. Queensland proved to be a pioneer in the supply of electricity in Australia, with the first public demonstration in Australia, the first recorded use for public purposes in the country, the first Parliament House in Australia and the first commercial operations in Australia all occurring in Brisbane.
Anthony James (Tony) Bourke is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1976 to 1980, representing the electorate of Lockyer. A long-term Toowoomba councillor, he later served as Mayor of Toowoomba from 1997 to 2000.
Storm King Dam is a reservoir created by the dam of the same name in the locality of Storm King in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It provides water for the town of Stanthorpe.
Fletcher is a rural locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Fletcher had a population of 92 people.
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